Chances are you haven’t heard of Dustin Garrison, a mighty-mite of a running back who has been a flat-out star this season for Pearland High School, one of the best schools in Houston. Not many outside of the area have.

But that is changing quickly.

He’s not only stepping out of the shadows as more schools take notice of his production, but he’s got eyes to play football at CU if the Buffs have eyes for him.

The particulars are these: Garrison is Rodney Stewart-sized 5-8, 160 pounds and yet he’s run for 2,434 yards and 39 touchdowns (on 7.2 yards per carry), and caught 27 passes for 474 yards and five touchdowns in the biggest division of high school football in Texas. His yardage is second in the city only to Brookshire Royal High’s Brandon Williams, who has committed to play for Oklahoma.

Garrison just helped lead Pearland to an upset victory over national power Katy (TX) High in the state quarterfinals, rushing for 104 yards and two touchdowns in the win. Katy came into the game ranked No. 10 in the nation. Now, Pearland (14-0) is ranked 21st in the country.

“For a while, ever since my junior year I’ve looked at Colorado’s team, done some research; they have the major that I’ve been looking for,” Garrison said. “I watched a few games and I saw how small their running back was and that’s what really stood out to me. The guy wasn’t 6-foot tall, 220 pounds; he looked like me a little bit. That’s what got me looking at Colorado. I haven’t seen a lot of colleges out there who pick up guys my size, my height. That’s what stood out most to me at Colorado, their decision in putting the best guys out there, even if they are 5-5 or 5-6.”

His size might have been a hindrance in early recruiting, but according to Garrison he’s got schools such as Oregon, Oregon State, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Utah and Washington all interested.

“The Oregon coach came by my school like a month ago,” said Garrison, who is originally from Louisiana but his family was displaced in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. “He came by to come take a look at me and talk to me a little bit. I have a handful of offers right now.”

Asked to describe his running style, Garrison said “I use my speed. It’s a big part of my game. I’ve been running track since I’ve moved to Texas in the seventh grade. My running style is kind of get low to the ground. I might be 160 pounds, but I run like I’m 200 pounds. I run with a lot of power. This offseason I’ve been doing a lot of explosive drills like squats and a lot of power cleans. I’ve been doing a lot of that and it’s been showing on the field. I’m more explosive than I was last year. My acceleration, my cuts. My running has been really great this year.”

Asked if Colorado’s coaching change made him rethink his interest in the university, Garrison said “No, not really. I knew about the change in the coaching staff, but that didn’t really affect my interest in Colorado at all.”

All he needs now is the feeling to be mutual.

Chris Dempsey: www.twitter.com/dempseypost or cdempsey@denverpost.com

Article printed from The Field House: http://blogs.denverpost.com/colleges